e are privileged to offer in
this issue a tribute to
Wilbur W. Mayhew, the
man and his legacy. Bill Mayhew recognized in the 1950s that in California the “natural laboratories,” where
students and researchers could find out
how the natural world works, were
vanishing under a wave of rapid development. He dedicated himself to
securing reserves for the University of
California, which later became the cornerstones of the NRS.
His selfless decision to put this quest
ahead of his own research has already
benefited thousands directly. Those, in
turn, share their experience and knowledge with many others. And, with generous help, the NRS continues to build
in many ways on the foundation laid

ill Mayhew was talking about his World War II experiences and his
many close shaves with death: “I should not have made it through.”

But lots of folks are sure grateful he did, including thousands of former students
and colleagues, and legions of others who have worked with this UC Riverside
emeritus professor of zoology to solve diverse ecological dilemmas across California. Many people know Wilbur (“Bill”) Mayhew as one of the three founders
of the NRS, along with Ken Norris and Mildred Mathias. Few understand how
his combat and other military service experiences during World War II prepared
this soft-spoken man for the many hard environmental battles he would later
engage in.
Continued on page 2

Transect • 19:1
November 29, just nine days before Pearl
Harbor was bombed. He and the other
Yanks on board the Republic (referred to
by some as the “Repulsive,” for its lack
of grace) would become the first Americans in Australia in World War II.

Bill (front row, right) and other men of the 88th Reconnaissance
Squadron, 7th Bombardment Group, at the Karachi Airport, India, 1942.
Photo courtesy of Bill Mayhew

Wartime challenges

Bill volunteered for combat duty and was
made a ball turret gunner. To get into
the ball turret, which hangs like a
Plexiglas bubble from the belly of the
B-17s on which he served, “you have to
point the guns [two .50-caliber machineguns] straight down and get in through
a door that is also your seat. From this
position, when the plane is flying and the
door is back in place in the plane’s underside, you are surrounded by sky.” Bill
said, “My first flight in a ball turret was
very frightening. But it wasn’t so bad
after that.”

Continued from page 1

Then, on September 13, 1942, at around midnight over
Africa, Bill almost froze to death. It was during his first (and
last) night mission. The Allies were trying to catch Rommel
in Tobruk, Libya. A landing of 40,000 troops, some at
Tobruk, some at Benghazi, was to take place at 3:00 a.m.
The B-17 on which Bill was a crew member was supposed
to “keep the gunners (on the ground) occupied. We were
target practice, to divert attention from the convoys in the
harbor.” The B-17’s crew flew at 25,000 feet through a layer
of dense smoke and exploding shells. Bill could see Allies
flying at 8,000 feet in Wellingtons — small, two-engine,

In October 1940, Bill was taking classes at Modesto Junior
College, where he had recently completed an A.A. degree in
biology. Bored with his courses, a mid-term looming, Bill
abruptly enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, along with
three gung-ho friends. His plan, to the extent that he had
one, was to save a little money during a year in the service to
help underwrite his further education. Though he earned
only $21 a month (with about $4 of that going to laundry),
he still expected he would be able to put some money aside.
This was at a time when the Great Depression had been
grinding on for more than a decade, and, according to Bill,
“You could have a lot of fun on one dollar during an evening
in town.” Back in 1940, Bill estimates, “80 percent of the
country was still isolationist.” But fourteen months later,
the attitude of the American public would change abruptly.

Dr. Mayhew’s conservation legacy is tangible and vast, protected within thousands of acres of diverse habitats. He
has devoted most of his life to conservation, but most of his
friends do not know that he served his country with equal
dedication and courage. … He flew many combat missions [during World War II], including one in which he
survived serious wounds and a crash landing on Malta
after an attack by German fighters. Bill completed his military service with a Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal,
Purple Heart, and Presidential Unit Citation with two
oak leaf clusters. … [He] has worked most of his life in
defense of natural habitats with the same steady courage
and humility with which he defended his country.

Bill was assigned to the 88th Reconnaissance Squadron,
which was attached to the 7th Bombardment Group of the
Army Air Corps.*
His close scrapes began in 1941. The troop ship on which
he was traveling to Australia, passed through Honolulu on
*Bill’s World War II experiences, and the friendships he has
maintained with members of the 88th Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Bombardment Group of the Army Air Corps, have
profoundly influenced his life. He has served as photo editor of
two books encompassing the history of the 7th Bombardment
Group from 1918 to 1995.

chasing them, and a crash landing on Malta. The tail gunner, Augustus (Pat) Patrick, was shot through the feet by
machine gun fire and would have to have his feet amputated. Bill was more fortunate: he recovered fairly rapidly
from a leg wound. But the day’s events ended Bill’s combat
duty. No wonder, decades later, he would look back to this
time and say, “I should not have made it through.”

It was very cold in the ball turret, since the temperature
inside that plastic-and-metal ball was not much different
than on the outside. Worried about this mission and about
the cold, Bill had borrowed another man’s electric suit, two
thin layers of felt containing heating elements. But he
hadn’t checked in advance to see if the electric plug on the
suit was compatible with the outlet in his ball turret. It
wasn’t. He couldn’t plug in the borrowed suit. And he had
left his bulky leathers, his regular flying clothes, back at the
barracks — there had been no room for them in the plane.
“It was -50°F that night. I should have frozen to death.
I think adrenaline is all that kept me alive.”

He returned to California in 1943 and served as a gunnery
instructor for the remainder of the war, including oversight
of 90 instructors at one point. Surviving extreme challenges
to life and limb throughout his early years of military service proved highly motivating. As an instructor, Bill’s goal
was to impart what he knew to young recruits and do it well
enough to help them stay alive. This period gave Bill a keen
appreciation for teaching. That’s when Bill decided teaching was a noble art.

Back on the ground at the end of that mission — after a
total of five hours in the air, with 45 minutes over the target at 25,000 feet, enduring subzero temperatures — Bill
had to be lifted out of the ball turret.

Starting in 1945, with GI Bill support, Bill rapidly earned
his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctor’s degrees in zoology from
UC Berkeley (1948, 1951, and 1953). His graduate research was conducted under the mentorship of A. Starker
Leopold. Bill subsequently worked a short stint in the UCLA
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Biology,
studying the effects of strontium 90 on living tissue (and
“not really knowing what we were doing”). Meanwhile, he
courted employment at the emerging UC campus being
established in Riverside.

Another time, the B-24 Pink Lady — on which Bill was a
waist gunner — was lost in a storm over the Arabian Sea.
The crew was returning to the Mediterranean from a mission to China. One of their four engines was out. The
radio operator could not contact the base. The navigator
could not get a fix from stars. He estimated they were five
hours from base with only a few hours’ worth of fuel remaining. They flew on for two hours, blind in the storm,
wings flaming with Saint Elmo’s Fire — a colorful brush
discharge of electricity sometimes seen on planes and ships
during thunderstorms. Suddenly they heard a voice calling
them over the radio. They were just above
the base! Bill is forever grateful to the
gut instincts of the navigator for “finding” the base on that horrific night.
The Pink Lady and members of her crew
were shot up and badly damaged over
Messina, Sicily, on January 31, 1943.
That afternoon the plane had headed into
what seemed to Bill to be a “a solid wall
of flying steel” and “clouds of smoke from
the exploding ack-ack shells.” They saw
their friends in the lead plane shot down
and crash into the sea about 20 miles off
the coast of Sicily. The entire crew was
killed. But the Pink Lady’s crew managed to survive engine fires, loss of oxygen and hydraulic systems (no brakes, no
landing flaps), German fighter pilots

From 1954, when Bill began his tenure at UC Riverside as
a founding faculty member, until his retirement from teachContinued on page 14

reat new NRS reserves don’t
often come along nowadays.
Not only are the pressures of
development and competing land uses
greater than ever in California, but any
site proposed for NRS inclusion must
meet stringent scientific, academic, and
even administrative criteria. It’s cause
for celebration, therefore, that the NRS
now announces its 34th site — the
Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino
Reserve — has become available for
research and teaching.
Located in northern San Luis Obispo
County on the southern edge of the
town of Cambria, the reserve offers one
of the most spectacular stretches of
coastal intertidal habitat in central California. This “surf and turf ” site encompasses 500 acres (200 hectares) that
include such diverse habitats as an extensive rocky shoreline (about a mile
and a half of it), nearshore kelp forests,
a coastal terrace grassland, and slopes
covered with Monterey pine forest with
coast live oaks, grassy prairies and hillsides, and coastal scrub.

A little site history
Archaeological evidence of midden
deposits at this site and the many artifacts collected on adjacent land suggest
that a large Chumash village once existed here, supporting perhaps as many
as 3,000 people.
Europeans developed dairy ranches in
central California in the mid-nineteenth century. Each year, from the
early 1900s through the 1960s, Chinese algae collectors would harvest algae from a narrow band along miles of
the high intertidal zone.* In the 1940s,
this site became a cattle ranch.
*Editor’s note: Each winter, these Chinese algae collectors used propane torches
to scorch the intertidal rocks, killing algal spores and ensuring that Porphyra —
a weedy algae species commonly known
as nori and widely used in Asian food —
would be able to settle and grow in these
areas. Each spring, they harvested the
Porphyra, then dried and sold it to markets in San Francisco and China. Modern-day marine ecologists use this same
rock-scorching technique in their studies.
University of California
4

>

In 1966, the site was visited by members of the UC reserve system and its
potential value as a reserve was pointed
out by the NRS founder himself, Ken
Norris. Again in January 1970, the intertidal area was visited by a group of
biologists from UC Santa Barbara, who
concluded that “this locality is a good
example of exposed outer coast with
high floristic diversity which warrants
reserve status.”
But the course of natural resource management seldom runs smoothly. Another three decades would pass before
interest and opportunity joined hands
over this land. In January 2001, due to
the generosity of the landowner, the
NRS started its program at the reserve
under a six-year use-agreement. Under
this agreement, access is limited to university-level research and teaching.
Outstanding marine resources
The Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino
Reserve is unique for its marine resources. The intertidal area stands out
as an excellent and increasingly rare example of central California coastline,
particularly impressive because of how
extensive it is. In fact, no other site
available to campuses in California can
compare with this one in terms of the
undisturbed richness and extensiveness
of its intertidal area. It is anticipated
that, as part of the NRS, this reserve
will become one of the major sites for
marine research and teaching along the
California coast.
Flanking the reserve and forming a
nearshore band are extensive kelp forests, a combination of giant kelp and
bull kelp. This is one of the largest beds

Transect • 19:1
within this region of the coast. Giant
kelp lives for up to three to four years,
can grow to lengths of 200 feet (60
meters), and can cover an area varying
from several hundred feet to one mile
wide. It may extend for several miles
and is found along the North American Pacific coast from central California down to Bahía Asunción, Baja
California. Bull kelp, an annual that
can grow up to 20 meters in length, is
a major constituent of kelp beds from
Alaska down to San Luis Obispo County,
California. Kelp forests support millions
of individual organisms and more than
1,000 species of marine plants and animals. Kelp is also important habitat for
the recruitment of commercially important rockfish species and is itself an important crop with many commercial uses.
Its harvesting is regulated by the California Department of Fish and Game.
The intertidal area at this reserve is
algae-dominated and very robust.
There are no distinct mussel or barnacle
zones. Fucoid brown algae predominate in the upper intertidal. A high species diversity of mostly foliose red algae is found throughout the intertidal.
The low intertidal zone has seagrasses
and laminarian brown algae.
Rare grassland habitats

mately 90 species, with 60 percent (50+
species) native.
The northern end of the reserve is
dominated by an introduced perennial,
Harding grass. Extensive areas are comprised of dense mixtures of introduced
grasses, mostly annuals. There is a large
patch of kikuya grass near the owner’s
residences. Native species
maintain a hold in the vicinity of the blufftops,
where stands of California
oatgrass, Pacific ryegrass,
and saltgrass are present. A
few patches of saltgrass and
an occasional patch of rush
extend farther into the grassland. Along the lip of the
bluffs are several native perennial forbs and prostrate
shrubs, including goldenbush, sea thrift and species
of clarkia, gumweed, and
buckwheat. Introduced
iceplant is present, but not
extensive.
The northern end of the reserve was grazed by cattle
until four years ago. In addition to the site’s good
coastal terrace prairie mixed
with upland purple
needlegrass prairie, reserve

Roughly one-quarter of the reserve harbors patches of coastal terrace prairie
mixed with upland purple needlegrass
prairie. Coastal terrace grasslands are
among the most threatened and rare
plant communities in North America.
Grassland is the most altered of the
reserve’s habitats — in old, cultivated
fields, introduced grasses have almost
completely replaced the native plant
community. Yet, overall, the area remains a surprisingly vital example of
coastal terrace prairie, characterized by
good species diversity. The soils are
deep, well drained, nearly level, and
very productive. A current flora of terrestrial vascular plants lists approxi-

users have access to a large area (perhaps 65 acres) of fields relatively clean
of persistent agricultural weeds. This
area could be used for demonstration
and as an outdoor laboratory for coastal
grassland restoration. Restoration
classes are in demand throughout the
UC system, and this reserve is especially

Transect • 19:1
New NRS site
Continued from page 5
well suited for studies of grassland restoration ecology because of its current
division into grazed and nongrazed areas. Researchers may also be interested
in aspects of coastal influence on grassland restoration.
Native Monterey pine forest
The reserve’s grassland extends up into
a forest of Monterey pine, native to the
central coast of California. The pine
forest runs along the ridgetop and
slopes for most of the reserve’s length,
permitting fairly extensive replication
of study plots. Although Monterey
pines are fast-growing and raised
throughout the world in plantations as
a source of lumber (one of the world’s
largest timber crops), only a few small
native forests exist — the Cambria area
is one of just three places in the
United States. Such remnant
native stands are significant because native forests exhibit a
natural genetic diversity not
found in plantation trees. Indeed, they contain the entire
genetic history of the species.
Because the Monterey pine is so
restricted in its natural distribution (restricted to the coastal
fogbelt), with such a limited
number of individuals — and,
in addition, is now threatened
by a recently arrived and fastspreading disease, pine pitch
canker — efforts are being made
to protect the species by having
it declared threatened and listed
under the California Endangered Species Act. Some 36 endangered or special status plants
and animals are found in or near
Monterey pine forest and may
be dependent on that particular forest habitat for their
survival.

The native Monterey pine forest at the
reserve appears healthy, with even-aged
stands that include many seedlings and
saplings, and many large, dead trees are
in various states of decay. (In contrast,
forests to the north in the Monterey
area are dominated by over-mature
trees.) No fires have been reported
since 1900, but clearly the pines are
germinating successfully even in the
absence of fire.
Considerable infestation by pine pitch
canker is present here. This non-native
fungus from western Asia, which is
quickly spread by insects feeding on
branch tips and by people moving bits
of wood, is devastating Monterey pines.
Although about one-quarter of the
trees at the reserve are dead from pitch
canker or infected with it, the forest
appears healthier than more northerly
examples. The U.S. Forest Service is
conducting studies on the reserve and

throughout the Monterey pine’s range
to determine if resistance is a genetically heritable trait (see the website of
the Pitch Canker Task Force:
<http:frap.cdf.ca.gov/pitch_canker/
index.htm>).
Coast live oaks are an abundant understory in the pine forest, creating research opportunities on a variety of
topics, including Sudden Oak Death,
a new, non-native species of fungus that
recently appeared in central and northern California and has been creating
arboreal havoc in Marin County (see
page 11). The understory of shrubs,
forbs, grasses, rushes, and ferns is fairly
diverse and mostly native. Grasslands
within the woodland and on the slopes
have not been cultivated like those on
the lower terrace, with good stands of
native grasses present. Poison oak is
common in some parts of the forest, but
not so dense as to discourage research.
In the pine forest near the
reserve’s northern end is a turbid, 1.5-acre pond, 7 meters
deep. It provides some wetland
habitats and a fairly diverse
shoreline of rushes and sedges.
Constructed more than forty
years ago, it appears to be fed
by springs, in addition to winter runoff.
Diverse fauna found on site

All age classes of native Monterey pines are
present on site. Photo by Don Canestro

The north end of this site’s
coastal terrace grasslands is covered with a thick gray layer of
thatch (made up of the oxidizing stems of annuals — the result of no grazing for the past
four years) and this area is swisscheesed by the runways of voles,
many of which can be observed
running underfoot. Red-tailed
hawks, white-tailed kites,
kestrels, marsh hawks, common
egrets, blue herons, and barn
owls are often seen feeding here.

Transect • 19:1
Common grassland birds include
northern flickers, meadowlarks, bluebirds, and red-winged blackbirds.
Moving toward the south end of the
reserve, where the native coastal prairie grades abruptly into coastal scrub
dominated by California sage,
woodrats and other mice are common.
Bats, raccoons, skunks, coyotes, and
bobcats can also be found on site. Turkeys travel the reserve.
The reserve’s intertidal area supports a
high density of turban snails, few mussels, and all three species of Anthopleura
anemones. The invertebrate grazer
communities differ here from those of
other NRS reserves that include an intertidal component.
Also existing in the low intertidal zone
are modest numbers of black abalone
with no signs of “foot withering syndrome.” This is the healthiest southernmost population of black abalone
(see sidebar to the right above).
Ornithologically inclined reserve users
will note the Brandt’s cormorants, western and Heerman’s gulls, black turnstones, wandering tattlers, blue herons,
and common egrets that forage along
the shoreline and on the kelpbeds.
California sea otters are present at this
site, and their presence as a keystone
predator may affect the entire marine
ecosystem at the reserve. Currently,
researchers from UC Santa Cruz and
the California Department of Fish and
Game are tagging otters off the coast
in an effort to understand their recent
movement to the south of Point
Conception.
Bottlenose dolphins have been sighted
between the kelp beds and shore. California sea lions and harbor seals are also
present, and a survey of marine mammals at this site may reveal that the rock
outcrops offer significant haul-out sites.

Where did all
the black abalones go?

B

lack abalones have practically disappeared from the Channel Islands off southern California and now
are rarely found along the mainland
coast as far north as Point Buchon,
about 20 miles south of the Kenneth Photo by Kevin Lafferty
S. Norris Rancho Marino Reserve.
Currently there are no black abalones in the more southern NRS sites.
The reason for this decline is “foot withering syndrome,” a condition
thought to be caused by a parasite. Also called “abalone wasting disease,”
it is characterized by weakening and atrophy of the abalone’s foot muscles,
which makes it difficult for the shellfish to adhere to its substrate.
For information on the current worldwide geographic distribution of black
abalones, check “ABMAP — The Abalone Mapping Project” of the Los
Angeles County Museum of Natural History: <http://www.nhm.org/
~dgeiger/ABMAP/index.html>.

Site location and significance
The extent of rocky intertidal habitat
available and the lack of human disturbance here make the reserve unusual
for this region of the state. Moreover,
the site is suitable for year-round use
and well located within reasonable driving distance from several UC campuses:
two hours from Santa Barbara, three
hours from Santa Cruz, and four hours
from Los Angeles or Berkeley.

and low settlement rates of marine invertebrates and fish (because of strong
offshore transport of larvae). As a result, coastal communities in this region
are dominated by marine algae rather
than sessile invertebrates, and the reserve bears greater resemblance to more
northerly marine sites in terms of its
dense algal cover, lower abundance of
invertebrates, such as mussels and barnacles, and large size of seaweeds.
Available facilities

The reserve’s location is important for
conducting California marine biogeography research. It fills a biogeographic
gap in a system of marine sites along
the coast. The reserve is centered in a
region, from San Simeon south to
Point Conception, where there is growing evidence of unique oceanographic
influences on community structure in
coastal habitats. This section of coastline is characterized by intense, continuous coastal upwelling that elevates
nutrient concentrations and generates
currents away from the coastline. These
effects lead to extremely rapid algal
growth rates (because of high nutrients)
Natural Reserve System
7

Thirteen acres adjacent to this site are
owned by Camp Ocean Pines — for
half a century a YMCA camp, now operated locally. The cabins and dining
hall are assets to the reserve, able to accommodate large overnight field
classes. No alternative field sites for intensive ecological courses exist anywhere
else in the vicinity of UC Santa Barbara.
Although the reserve cannot provide
laboratory space, running seawater on
site, or vessel access at the beach, it may
be ideal for field classes, such as the MaContinued on page 8

Transect • 19:1

New reserve gets buoyant new manager
PISCO researchers from UCSB and UCSC conducting
a comprehensive survey of marine intertidal
organisms at the reserve. Photo by Don Canestro

D

on Canestro became resident reserve manager
of the Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino Reserve in 2001, after nearly eight years as Diving and
Boating Safety Officer at UC Santa Cruz. He has
worked as a lifeguard and maintenance and operations park ranger for the East Bay Regional Park District in Oakland, a marine biologist for the Channel
Islands National Park, a research associate at UC
Santa Barbara, and a SCUBA instructor in various
settings. He has dived in Antarctica and the Bering
Sea on various University research projects. Canestro
has a B.S. in Conservation of Natural Resources from
UC Berkeley and an M.A. in Marine Science from
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. He has worked
as an environmental consultant and is an expert on
SCUBA diving standards.

Marine botany students from UCLA identifying and
pressing algae collected at the reserve. Photo by
Don Canestro

New NRS site
Continued from page 7
rine Biology quarter at UC Los Angeles (which now operates from the
Bodega Marine Laboratory and Reserve, 50 miles north of San Francisco).
Potential reserve users should contact
the site’s management for information
on evolving housing options. The
reserve’s resident manager recently put
in place a 32-foot travel trailer with
kitchen, bath, three single beds, and
one double bed.
Reserve management
Day-to-day administration of the Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino Reserve

is provided by UC Santa Barbara,
which manages six other NRS sites:
Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve, Coal
Oil Point Natural Reserve, Santa Cruz
Island Reserve, Sedgwick Reserve,
Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory, and Valentine Camp.
The faculty manager for this reserve is
Steve Gaines, UC Santa Barbara professor in the Department of Ecology,
Evolution, and Marine Biology and
director of the Marine Science Institute at UCSB. He plans to use the reserve as a core, long-term monitoring
site for a major new research program
in intertidal studies under a grant recently received from the Packard Foundation. (The website for the research
consortium called PISCO — PartnerUniversity of California
8

Transect • 19:1
from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation will enable
NRS scientists to greatly expand their research and monitoring of California oak woodlands, and to provide stewardship training to agencies and landowners who manage
these ecosystems.
Through the continued generosity and foresight of the
Packard Foundation, the NRS has received a $263,600 grant
to develop a framework for long-term study to restore and
manage California’s threatened coastal oak ecosystem. The
grant will fund a 10-month planning process to develop a
network of sites, scientists, managers, and landowners called
the Coast Ranges Oak Woodland Network (CROWN). The
Oak at Hastings Reserve. Photo by David J. Gubernick goals of the network are to develop knowledge that will
help support new policies and management to conserve,
restore, and sustain California’s oak woodlands and grasslands. The network will encompass a broad-based program
for monitoring wildlands in the Coast Ranges and will bring
together existing programs into a wide-ranging education
ak woodlands and grasslands characterize network for landowners, students, and resource managers.
much of California’s rolling hills. Yet these
graceful landscapes are in peril. A large portion A vital part of this network will be a series of protected
of the state’s old oaks have been destroyed, and most of its research sites where long-term experiments can be congrasslands have been transformed into weeds or lost to de- ducted. Three NRS reserves will serve as core areas for
velopment. Such losses have prompted ambitious protec- CROWN research: Hastings Natural History Reservation
tion efforts by agencies, citizens, and conservation groups. (Monterey County), McLaughlin Natural Reserve (Napa
Since 1990 was proclaimed by the California legislature as and Lake Counties), and Sedgwick Reserve (Santa Barbara
the Year of the Oak, hundreds of acres of oak woodland County). These sites provide a broad geographic range in
have been protected or replanted, most by volunteer efforts which to study oak woodlands, as well as an established
in communities across the state.
body of previous research on which to build new knowledge.

Oak woodland network
welcomes support of
Packard Foundation

O

As important as these efforts are, they
have protected less than 5 percent of
the state’s remaining oak woodland,
and native species continue to decline.
Much publicized are the decline of
blue oaks and valley oaks, the dwindling populations of native plants and
animals, and the spread of invasive
weeds. Clearly, protecting wildlands
and open space is just the start to conserving California’s oak woodland
ecosystems.
NRS scientists have been studying oak
woodlands in California for more than
thirty years. This research has led scientists to examine many aspects of the
landscape, from the influence of
predators on acorn production to the
effects of cattle grazing on perennial
grasses and oak seedlings. A recent gift

The life cycle of an oak woodland is a
very slow dance; it takes a long time
to learn its secrets. A generation ago,
Hastings ecologist Jim Griffin noticed
the woodlands he studied contained
very few young oaks. In 1971, Griffin was the first scientist to document
the lack of regeneration of valley oaks
in the Carmel Valley. Other studies in
other places confirmed that the majestic old blue oaks and valley oaks that
graced foothills throughout central
California had no replacements. This
so-called lack of recruitment in oaks
prompted a series of scientific meetings during the seventies and eighties.
Much of the information presented
came from scientists working on UC’s
Backlit oak.
Photo by Galen Rowell
Natural Reserve System
9

Continued on page 10

Transect • 19:1
these partners, new techniques for restoration and management can be tested and monitored. Social scientists will
examine the values people attach to these landscapes and
explore how these values can be reflected in new policy
designs.

Oak tree after snow storm in Carmel Valley(!).
Photo by David J. Gubernick

natural reserves. In their search for clues, NRS scientists
examined acorn production and the many kinds of wildlife
that depend on acorns as food. They found acorn production to be closely tied to spring weather, and the abundance
of the acorn crop to be synchronized across long distances.
They studied the habits of jays and squirrels that effectively
plant thousands of acorns each year, and the consequences
of deer and cattle grazing on the growing tips of seedlings.
They examined the ecosystem dynamics affected by gophers
and found that the churned earth created seedbeds for annual weeds that in turn sapped the soil of nutrients and
moisture.
Much has been learned, yet more questions remain. Earlier
studies examined ecological conditions at particular sites
and at particular times. The proposed CROWN research
extends the study to oak woodland ecosystems across the
entire Coast Ranges and over a time scale of at least a decade, in order to learn how species develop adaptations to
different local environments. New scientific tools enable
inquiry at both very large and very small scales. In addition
to geographic studies of adaptation, CROWN research proposes to examine the movement of genes among populations to determine how landscape fragmentation affects genetic diversity. In this way, CROWN research will explore
questions from the molecular level to the ecosystem level in
order to better understand the processes important to sustaining oak woodlands and grasslands.
Long-term research is necessary to understand natural processes that take one’s lifetime to unfold. But the CROWN
proposal recognizes that research alone is not enough to
restore woodland ecosystems. Therefore, a large part of the
proposal includes the translation of scientific knowledge into
workable strategies to restore and manage the foothill landscapes of the Coast Ranges. Many partners will be engaged
through outreach programs, and, through cooperation with

Several NRS scientists are working to develop the Coast
Ranges Oak Woodland Network, including NRS systemwide director Alex Glazer, who serves on the project’s
executive committee. Frank Davis (UCSB) is principal
investigator and director; Susan Harrison (UCD) is associate director for the project. Hastings reserve director Mark
Stromberg serves as education and outreach director. These
scientists will work with an advisory committee representing a broad range of interests, from The Nature Conservancy to the California Cattlemen’s Association, to ensure
the project is closely connected with ongoing conservation
efforts in all sectors.
The first work to be completed with the Packard Foundation grant will be to collect all that is known about oak
woodlands from the scientific literature and from local experts. Informal workshops and small meetings will be held
throughout the region to compare the experience of many
people working to restore oak woodland ecosystems. From
this collected knowledge, CROWN organizers will develop
a long-term strategy that will strengthen the conservation
of California’s oak woodlands.
— Margaret L. Herring
NRS Senior Science Writer
For more information, contact:
Susan Harrison
Environmental Science and Policy
University of California, Davis, CA 95616
Phone: 530-752-7110
Email: spharrison@ucdavis.edu

Phytophthora responsible is proving
hardy and adaptable. It is found in rainwater, soil, and infested plant material.
It thrives in a cool (50° to 60°F), moist
climate, but can survive periods of
drought, then revive when water is introduced. It has also been found on
wild huckleberries in Marin County
and on Shreve’s oaks (Q. parvula var.
shrevei — a new oak host for SOD)
and commercial rhododendrons in
Santa Cruz County. This exotic
Phytophthora was first isolated by UC
Davis plant pathologist David Rizzo
and UC Berkeley forest pathologist/
UC Cooperative Extension specialist
SOD is caused by a brand-new Matteo Garbelotto.
strain of Phytophthora fungus — essentially a water mold, less related SOD impacts include the loss of aesto mushrooms than to brown algae. thetic values, property values, and habiIt is similar to the type of organism tat for flora and fauna supported by livresponsible for the Irish potato fam- ing oaks; the creation of hazard trees
ine of the mid-nineteenth century. and increased fire hazards; the degraIn some parts of Australia, other ex- dation of water quality; and significant
otic Phytophthora species have killed costs of dead tree removal. In the long
70 percent of an area’s woody spe- run, SOD could permanently change
cies. SOD destroys a tree’s living in- California’s landscape.
ner bark layer, girdling it and cutting off transport of water and nu- Until recently, no cure or means of controlling the moisture-loving, quicktrients from roots to crown.
spreading new Phytophthora was
SOD’s first and most prominent known. However, this past winter, exsymptom is typically a viscous, red- perimentation on 90 potted live oak
dish brown to black seeping or trees in Sonoma County determined
“bleeding” from the trunk. Diagnos- that a phosphonate compound, espeing SOD is tricky: other conditions cially when administered by injection,
can cause similar bleeding. Once a can all but eliminate the
tree begins to decline, various op- lesions that occur in SOD.
portunistic elements — defoliating Although this treatment
and boring insects, root diseases, and would be impractical for
canker fungi — join in to hasten its California’s oak wildlands, it
offers a first real reason for
demise.
hope for oaks in public parks
Relatively little is known about SOD and on private lands.
and how it spreads. However, the
he fate of California’s oaks has
looked increasingly bleak since
1995 when scientists first became
aware of a devastating new pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death
(SOD). Already SOD has killed tens
of thousands of coast live oaks
(Quercus agrifolia), black oaks (Q.
kelloggii), and tanoaks (Lithocarpus
densiflorus)* in seven counties —
Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Santa Clara,
Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and
Monterey — along 200 miles of
coastline and as far as 35 miles
inland.

* The tanoak is actually a type of beech
tree, not an oak.

Things you can do to help
prevent SOD:
• Learn to recognize the symptoms
of SOD. Report suspected cases.
Obtain a professional evaluation to
determine whether SOD is present.
• Do not collect soil, wood, or other
plant material (acorns, leaves, etc.)
from areas where SOD has occurred.
• Do not import host plants, firewood, or chips that originated in
SOD-confirmed areas.
• Hikers, dog walkers, bikers, sports
enthusiasts, construction workers,
and landscapers in SOD-infected areas should clean soil material from
their shoes, pets’ feet, tires, and
sports, construction, and gardening
equipment to prevent further spread.
If you think you have an oak afflicted with SOD or just want more
information on the problem, check
these two websites:
CA Oak Mortality Task Force —
<http://suddenoakdeath.org>
Center for the Assessment and
Monitoring of Forest and Environmental Resources (CAMFER) —
<http://camfer.CNR.berkeley.edu/
oaks/>.

Solitary oak. Photo by David J. Gubernick
Natural Reserve System
11

Transect • 19:1
CA Coastal Conservancy boosts two NRS reserves

T

he Quail Ridge Reserve, located in Napa County
on a southern peninsula of Lake Berryessa, got a
big boost in February when the California Coastal
Conservancy authorized $268,392 in funding for the purchase of five inheld parcels totalling 339 acres.

Protected sites in this area are also part of a regional-scale
conservation effort, the Blue Ridge-Berryessa Natural Area
Conservation Partnership, a consortium that includes the
UC Natural Reserve System, California Coastal Conservancy, Homestake Mining Company, Land Trust of Napa
County, Quail Ridge Wilderness Conservancy, California
Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

This was the final phase of a two-phase project in which
the conservancy provided a total of nearly $400,000 to NRS
sites. Last year the conservancy enabled purchase of a 210acre inholding that had previously bisected Quail Ridge
Reserve, thereby uniting its disparate sections and incorporating into the site a valuable canyon and creek. The Napa
County Land Trust will hold a conservation easement across
the property.

The conservancy will
also provide an additional $22,500 for development of a docent
program at another
NRS site, Stebbins
Cold Canyon Reserve.
This 576-acre reserve is
located in Solano and
Napa Counties, about
20 miles west of UC
Davis.

Although both Quail
Ridge and Stebbins are
inland sites, administered
through UC Davis, the
conservancy is able to
benefit them because new
conservancy guidelines
Stebbins has a long hisfor the San Francisco Bay
tory of public access, Quail Ridge Reserve. Photo by Frank Mauer
Area cover all nine Bay
receiving 2,000 to
Area counties that sur4,000 visitors each year. It was therefore decided that en- round and drain into the bay — including Solano and Napa
hancing access there would do more to further the Counties, where these two NRS reserves are located.
conservancy’s public access goals than enhancing access at
the more biologically vulnerable Quail Ridge Reserve, where The California Coastal Conservancy was established in 1976
increased public access would conflict with resource pro- by the state legislature and is a unique state resource agency
tection goals. Conservancy funds will be matched by the that uses entrepreneurial techniques to purchase, protect,
NRS systemwide office for the development of trails and restore, and enhance coastal resources, and to provide acother amenities at Stebbins.
cess to the shore. The conservancy works in partnership
with local governments, other public agencies, nonprofit orQuail Ridge Reserve holds outstanding remnants of ex- ganizations, and private landowners. To date, the conservancy
tremely rare native grassland, savanna, and oak woodland has undertaken more than 700 projects along the 1,100-mile
habitats that harbor a diverse mix of oak species. Conserva- California coastline and around San Francisco Bay.
tion of the Quail Ridge peninsula began in 1984 when Frank
Maurer and Lenora Timm purchased 151 acres threatened For more information, contact:
by development; in 1989, they created the Quail Ridge Wil- Virginia (“Shorty”) Boucher, Reserve Manager
derness Conservancy, which is dedicated to preserving the UCD NRS, DESP/Wickson Hall
Quail Ridge region as a wilderness area. Quail Ridge Re- University of California, Davis, CA 95616
serve was established as an NRS site in 1991 and currently Phone: 530-752-6949
encompasses 1,937 acres.
Email: vlboucher@ucdavis.edu
University of California
12

lthough Mathias award amounts are modest (the
maximum for a single award is $2,500), the granting process is taken very seriously, with proposals reviewed
first by the NRS campus committee, then by a systemwide committee. This is a real-life exercise in raising money
for research. Students receive firsthand experience in applying for grants, meeting deadlines, managing budgets; each
awardee submits a progress report to the NRS director.

seems likely to shed light on management issues concerning natural reserves are therefore especially welcome. Conversely, proposals for research that could readily be conducted at any number of locations throughout the state
or country will probably elicit a less-enthusiastic response
from the review committees — unless that research seems
likely to assist in the management of reserves or to increase scientific understanding of local ecosystems.

Mathias awards are designed to benefit UC graduate students by encouraging their research at NRS reserves. In
turn, such use recognizes the special values of NRS sites
as distinct from other locations and helps document the
value of the reserve system. Proposals for research that

An annual call for proposals is issued in September; awards
are announced in December. Applications may be obtained directly through an NRS campus representative or
from the NRS systemwide office (1111 Franklin Street, 6th
Floor, Oakland, CA 94607-5200; phone: 510-987-0150).

Natural Reserve System
13

Transect • 19:1
Wartime challenges

Continued from page 3

ing in 1989, Bill treasured his role as teacher. Of the 5,600+
undergraduate students he taught over his long career, more
than a thousand were enthusiastic participants in field trips
over long weekends spent investigating the bounties of natural areas throughout Southern California.
Bill always had an unassuming way of putting people at
ease, but his war experiences strengthened him for the tasks
ahead. Fortified by his convictions about the value of the
natural world, Bill had the confidence to pursue every opportunity, no matter the obstacles, of championing habitat
preservation throughout California. Bill and a researcher
friend from UCLA — another NRS hero, Ken Norris —
traveled around the state in the sixties and seventies, identifying parcels of land that represented California’s richly diverse but shrinking habitats. Their goal was to garner and
protect these areas as reserves in the nascent NRS, then
known as the “Natural Land and Water Reserves System.”
Ever working to fulfill that goal, Bill remained campus
director of the UC Riverside-administered NRS reserves
until 1990.
With little funding, the NRS has a long history of acquiring lands through donation. Throughout his career, Bill

has demonstrated a phenomenal ability to talk people into
giving land to the University. Perhaps because he figures it
never hurts to ask. And also because he believes that “no
only means maybe, at least for the time being.” His quiet
perseverance and down-to-earth diplomacy are legendary.
Furthermore, over the years, Bill showed a remarkable knack
for getting all the powers at the table — developers, landowners, bureaucrats, attorneys, private citizens — to communicate and find resolutions to land-use and preservation
dilemmas. He played a primary role in the establishment
of numerous NRS reserves, including two of the original
seven NRS sites: Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center in 1959 and Box Springs Reserve in 1964. The NRS
itself was established in 1965.
Fellow NRS founder Ken Norris once wrote of his colleague
and friend Bill Mayhew:
… Bill has repeatedly shown the way for people of all stripes
and persuasions to take part in attempts to preserve and protect
important parts of wild America, and he has often succeeded
in the face of seemingly insurmountable problems in the way.
What Bill does is so simple. He radiates a transparent honesty
that draws everyone into his plans. He is such a simple guy
himself that there is no one he can’t talk to, one on one, with no
suspicion to sweep away.

Throughout his career, Bill Mayhew
coordinated or was an essential participant in the creation of these UC NRS
and other reserves:

Eco-baron Bill Mayhew
“They were accusing me of being the
governor of the 51st state. They
thought I was trying to establish University land from the Mexican border
to the Oregon border…[but] I could
see down the line that we were not
going to have places for faculty and
students… .”

Transect • 19:1
takes to save our natural heritage for future generations.”
And later, as Nevada director for The Nature Conservancy,
Steve said of Bill, “He is why I became involved in conservation. I often think of what Bill would do in a particular
situation and that mind-set has guided me to many notable
conservation successes.”

What I will always remember about Bill is he never got
depressed. … He approached every day with an
optimism and an enthusiasm that I can only hope to
emulate. I believe that to be successful in land conservation work, you need to be a pathological optimist. That’s
Bill, and that’s his gift to all his students and colleagues.

Bill is first and foremost a solid field biologist and teacher,
rightly noted for his work on desert wildlife. This undergirds a
passion for protecting wild things, starting with the land. He
knows where he is trying to go, when many don’t. Then he
sweeps everyone along with him of whatever stripe: developers,
businessmen, retired women in trailers, politicians, fellow scientists. He is superior to no one, on a level with everyone, and
he shows the way.

The great irony of Bill’s career pleases his sense of humor.
Because he spent much of the war hating the harsh Indian
and Saharan desert landscapes where he was stationed, Bill’s
civilian intention was to stay as far away from deserts as he
could get! Yet he devoted much of his career to investigating Southern California’s deserts. Fortunately for California, numerous lands — including vast areas of desert —
and their inhabitants across the state will be protected well
into the future, in large measure, because of Bill Mayhew’s
courage and convictions.
— Jana K. Shaker
Senior Writer and Photographer
College of Engineering, UC Riverside
— and currently working on an Australian travel book,
Kangaroos and Kookaburras:
The Natural Delights of a Year Down Under

What has he done? A great deal. Priceless wildlife reserves
have been established because of him, including ones of thousands of acres of now totally unobtainable wildland adjacent
to high-priced real estate… .

For more information about Bill’s life, his career at UC
Riverside, and his land-preservation achievements throughout California, check out this oral history website:
<http://ucrhistory.ucr.edu/mayhew.htm>.

— Steve Hobbs
Formerly Nevada’s first state director of
The Nature Conservancy;
Currently director of land and water conservation
for Hennepin County, Minnesota,
and working on statewide conservation issues

We used to kid him that his ulterior plan was to walk across
California, all on lands he had managed to save.*
Two awards of which Bill is most proud are being the first
recipient, in 1983, of the Aldo Starker Leopold Conservation Award from The Nature Conservancy’s California chapter (that organization’s highest statewide honor) and, in
1994, having an NRS facility named in his honor: the
Wilbur W. Mayhew Building, a dormitory for visiting scientists at the Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center,
in Riverside County.
However, even more important to Bill than these kudos are
the acknowledgements he has received from his students
over the decades. One such student, Steve Hobbs, was still
an undergraduate when he had the flora and fauna of the
Mojave Desert revealed to him by Professor Mayhew. As a
graduate student, Steve said, “Bill taught me what conservation means. From the pure physical labor … to the intricate negotiations, [he] showed me the real world of what it
Bill* at Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research
Center, 1998. Photo by Alex Glazer

*Kenneth S. Norris to Chevron Conservation Awards, letter of
support for Bill Mayhew, March 23, 1997.

*Thanks for everything, “Bugs”!

Natural Reserve System
15

Transect • 19:1
A few words

Continued from page 1

by the Mayhew legacy. A newly added
34th reserve on the central California
coast provides protected access to
unique marine resources (page 4).
Grants from the California Coastal
Conservancy have substantially enhanced the Quail Ridge Reserve in
Napa County (page 12). With a planning grant to the NRS from the David
and Lucile Packard Foundation,
researchers from several UC campuses
have teamed up to launch a landscapescale project to improve the understanding and management of
California’s oak woodlands and grasslands (page 9). The research will involve
the McLaughlin, Hastings, and
Sedgwick reserves.
The frequent assertion
that the scientific advances of the twentieth
century have far exceeded those made
during the total past
history of humankind
is undoubtedly true.
Even so, it is very clear
that what we know of
the Earth — its organisms, their biology, and

the dynamics of their interaction with
each other and with their ever-changing environment — is very modest.
The projects of Mathias award-winning
students (page 13) exemplify the rich
array of questions being explored on
the reserves. The answers will certainly
contribute to our sense of wonder at
the natural world and may well contribute to the survival of humanity.
We are delighted to present Bill
Mayhew with this report in evidence
of the ever-growing appreciation of the
value of his pioneering contributions.
— Alexander N. Glazer
Director, Natural Reserve System

The University of California prohibits discrimination against or
harassment of any person employed by or seeking employment
with the University on the basis of race, color, national origin,
religion, sex, physical or mental disability, medical condition
(cancer-related), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation,
citizenship, or status as a Vietnam-era or special disabled veteran.
The University of California is an affirmative action/equal
opportunity employer. The University undertakes affirmative
action to assure equal employment opportunity for underutilized
minorities and women, for persons with disabilities, and for
Vietnam-era veterans and special disabled veterans. University
policy is intended to be consistent with the provisions of
applicable state and federal law. Inquiries regarding the
University’s equal employment opportunity policies may be
directed to: Office of Affirmative Action/Staff Personnel Services, University of California, Division of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, 300 Lakeside Drive, 6th Floor, Oakland, CA
94612-3560; phone: 510-987-0096.